Nightminds
by caffinate-me
Summary: "Next, we figure out how to stop the evil faction of vampires and save the city." "You're kidding, right?" Set Season 7. AU. Aka Vampire!Fic.
1. Chapter 1

Nightminds

But I will learn to breathe this ugliness you see,

So we can both be there and we can both share the dark.

And in our honesty, together we will rise,

Out of our nightminds, and into the light

At the end of the fight...

-Nightminds, Missy Higgins

Chapter 1

Kate sighed as she leaned back against the side of the building, pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and pointer finger. The day could not possibly get any worse. She had awoken with a splitting headache, the feeling of her pulse pounding directly behind her eyes, Castle snoring softly in the bed beside her. After she forced herself out of bed, and into a steaming hot shower, the pain had eased slightly, enough for her to choke down some coffee and medicine before dragging her sleep deprived body out into the grey, rainy morning to go to work.

They had reached a dead end to the case. A woman had been found murdered— two puncture wounds to the side of her neck. So, of course, Castle had been rambling on for days about vampires, telling her every story he knew about the creatures of the night. She snorted out a laugh at the mere thought of it. Vampires. Ridiculous. She had even caught him trying to slip a clove of garlic into her purse. It was supposed to ward off the demons; all it had done was make her hungry for Italian food.

Her stomach growled at the thought of pasta in a creamy Alfredo sauce, garlic bread and a giant salad. She was practically drooling now. When was the last time she had eaten, again? Oh, yes, Castle had brought her a bear claw with her second cup of coffee that morning after he had waltzed into the precinct only a few minutes before noon. She had practically growled at his impish grin before devouring the pastry. That had been right before Gates had poked her head out of her office to yell at the team across the bullpen, causing Beckett's headache to flare for the second time.

She let out a groan at the memory, her fingers moving to rub at her still tender temple.

Finally, just before four in the afternoon they had caught a break. The victim had been seen walking into a warehouse near the water. Castle had begged out as the team left the precinct— Gina was expecting him for a dinner meeting. She had actually felt a little bad for him when he shot her the kicked puppy look as he was leaving, like he would rather be hunted by demons than go sit with a group of suits for an hour. Not that she blamed him. She had gone to one of those dinners with him before. She would never be going again.

"Yo Beckett, we're heading out!"

Kate lifted her head to see Ryan and Esposito standing by their respective doors of their cruiser. Lifting a hand she waved them off. It had been sufficient for tonight. The warehouse had been another dead end. Nothing. Not a trace of life in the entire building, which they had canvassed not once but twice.

She stifled another moan; Gates was not going to be happy.

Her head rocked from side to side against the brick. Enough. She was going to go home, slip into a hot bath and forget this day had ever happened. Then, tomorrow she would wake up and start again. They would get a lead, she would solve the case, Gates would be happy and then Kate would convince Castle to take her away for the weekend. They could go someplace sunny. The Hamptons maybe, or her father's cabin, possibly a tropical isle where they could lie on the beach and drink fruity cocktails out of coconuts with tiny umbrellas in them and then never come back.

She puffed out her cheeks in a sigh, running her hand through her hair as she attempted to gather the strength to push herself off the building. But before she could move, something made her freeze, the fine hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. And her eyes flew open as she felt a needle jab into the side of her neck.

Then the world went black.

* * *

"You sure this will work?"

"She's a cop, a homicide detective. She's exactly what we need."

Kate groaned as the hushed voices made it past the haze currently clouding her brain. It was cold and damp. She was huddled in a ball on the floor. But what floor? Where was she?

What was going on?

Who?

She attempted to shake her head against the frigid concrete, to clear away some of the cobwebs.

The voices stopped. She could hear feet shuffling toward her. How many, she couldn't tell.

"But she's going to be mad."

"Don't be worried about that now. It's for the best. She'll come to see that in time."

And then the world was spinning, and she couldn't tell which way was up. She felt everything and nothing except a second set of needles being thrust into her neck.

* * *

"Beckett!"

"Kate? Can you hear me?"

"Kate!"

"Beckett!"

Kate flinched. Why were they yelling so loudly? In fact, why were they yelling at all? She was right here and she was... fine.

One eye cracked open, taking in her darkened surroundings. Letting out a sigh of relief she pushed herself off of the dirty floor. Her headache was gone. Finally. At least one good thing had happened, but why was she on the ground?

She pushed herself up in one swift motion, hands roaming her body, doing a mental inventory. Her badge and gun were still in place. Handcuffs: check. Vest. Her clothing was intact. No noticeable wounds or scars. Nothing hurt.

That was... strange. She shrugged it off, eyes adjusting to the dark as she searched for the door, only to have it burst open, her three "boys" pouring through the opening, another yell of her name dying on their lips.

She raised her hand, giving them a short, bored wave.

"Beckett? Oh my God, where have you been? We've been so worried."

Kate opened her mouth to answer, any possible explanation dying on her lips. Where _had_ she been?

"I, um, I'm not sure... I was getting ready to leave and then something pricked my neck and I woke up here... I don't... Where are we?"

Castle was at her side in an instant, flashlight in one hand, the other tangled in her hair, pulling it to the side so he could inspect her neck, rolling her head around to see the other side.

"I don't see anything," he stated and Kate flinched at the volume.

"Do you guys really need to be so loud? I swear, it's silent in here, you don't have to be yelling everything."

Castle frowned, gently pulling her head back so he could look in her eyes. "Beckett I was whispering."

"We need to get you to the hospital, get checked out. Just in case you've been drugged or have a concussion," Ryan interjected.

"No." Kate shook her head adamantly, her brow furrowed. She couldn't go to the hospital. She just couldn't. "No hospital. Guys, I'm fine."

"Kate..." Castle chastised. "You disappeared for hours, you said you were attacked. You _need_ to get checked out."

He sighed at the stubborn expression painting her face.

"Okay, fine, no hospital, but at least let Lanie look you over, run a tox screen," he bargained.

Kate considered the compromise for a moment, her eyes searching his before turning to read Ryan and Esposito's expressions: stone, arms crossed over chests. Okay, fine, she could deal with Lanie. "Okay."

The group collectively relaxed as they ushered her out the door and through the warehouse toward the waiting sedan.

Kate sniffed the air before shooting a look over at Castle, leaning slightly into his side and sniffing again. Doing a slight double take, she jogged up to Ryan and Esposito and frowned as she took in a breath from both of them before falling back to walk beside her partner, her nose crinkled.

"What's wrong? What were you doing?" Castle asked, his expression confused.

"Nothing," Kate shook her head. "You just smell better."

Castle shot her another look as they reached the sidewalk, but she shrugged it off as she slid into the backseat of the car.

What? It was true. She really should tell the boys to lay off the donuts.

* * *

Kate huffed out a sigh as she pushed herself up onto the exam table in the morgue, taking in the scene of Castle staring at her skeptically as Lanie snapped on a pair of bright pink gloves and came to stand in front of her, arms crossed over her chest, stethoscope looped around her neck. She had sent Ryan and Esposito home. There was no use in them wasting their time standing. After all she was fine and this was merely Castle's paranoia kicking in.

"Why do you have a stethoscope?" She piped up. "You work with dead people."

"It's for when you idiots come in here because you're too stubborn to go to the hospital," Lanie sassed back, her eyes piercing Beckett with a glare.

"It's nothing, Lanie. I feel fine."

"Uh huh," Lanie murmured. "I'll be the one deciding that. Now come here, let's get this over with so we can all get some sleep."

Beckett sighed, scooting forward on the autopsy table so Lanie could reach her.

The doctor nodded in thanks before pulling out her penlight and flashing it in her left eye quickly followed by her right. Lanie frowned, putting away the light so she could use both of her hands to feel Kate's skull, fingers moving methodically over the surface as she asked if anything hurt, her frown deepening every time Kate answered "no".

"What's wrong, Lanie?" Castle questioned.

Kate's eyes flickered from her friend to where Castle was huddled in the corner, leaning back against the wall, staring back at her with a curious yet sullen expression on his face.

"I don't know..." Lanie murmured as she pressed into the sides of Kate's neck. "Her pupils were contracting a lot faster than normal."

"Yeah, because that light was _really_ bright." Kate chimed in. She was getting tired of all of this. "I don't see what the big deal is, I feel fine. Great even. Better than I did earlier today, that's for sure. My headache's gone; I'm not tired at all. In fact I feel like I could keep going all day."

"Stimulant, maybe?" Castle mused as he looked to the coroner for answers.

"Maybe," Lanie agreed. "But not like one I've ever seen."

"Okay, sweetie," she continued. "Let me listen to your breathing and heart."

Kate's eyes rolled but she nodded in agreement, biting her lip slightly as the cold metal of the stethoscope pressed against her back.

"Okay, breathe normally for me."

Kate's leg started to swing as she sat bored on the table.

"Kate, come on. Breathe."

"I just did."

"No, you didn't."

"Yes, I did."

"Okay, fine," Lanie roused. "Just do it again, deeply."

Kate sucked in a breath. "There. Happy?"

Lanie nodded a single nod before backing up to study her friend's face, immediately leaning forward again and pressing the instrument to Kate's chest.

The doctor drew back suddenly, turned to her in shock, fingers immediately digging into the pulse point on Kate's neck. Pulling them away after a moment, she pressed the stethoscope back to her chest.

"Kate, sweetie..." She hesitated when she looked her friend in the eye, hand dropping to Kate's shoulder. "I can't hear your heart."

Kate couldn't help but laugh as Lanie continued to stare at her with a grim expression and Castle wandered up to stand next to her, his fingers twining through her own. "Very funny Lanie, what do you mean you can't hear my heart?"

"I mean it's not beating..."

"But that would mean that I'm dead and I'm clearly _not_ dead."

"I don't know," Lanie shook her head. "You have no pulse, Kate and until I asked you to suck in a deep breath you weren't breathing at all..."

"Lanie, come on... cut it out," Kate huffed. She was starting to get annoyed now. It was too late for this. "I _know _I should have gone to the hospital. I get it, I'm sorry but just cut the crap and tell me I'm fine so we can go home."

Lanie's hand dropped from Kate's shoulder to grasp her free hand. "I'm not kidding, Kate. Something_ is_ wrong."

"What? Are you saying I'm some sort of zombie?" Kate snorted out an incredulous laugh. She couldn't be serious.

With a roll of her eyes she wiggled her hand free from Lanie's grasp and pressed her own two fingers to her neck, Castle still clutching onto her other hand; eyes wide, mute. She knew it must be bad if he was staring and at a loss for words.

She couldn't feel her pulse.

Her chest began to tighten, her mind racing.

She yanked her hand from Castle's grasp, feeling at her wrist.

Nothing.

She pushed the heel of her hand into her chest, willing herself to feel the heartbeat.

"Lanie..."

She wanted to say she was gasping for breath but there was no breath to gasp.

Then she felt it happen, the flare in her eyes, the shift of her teeth and they were staring at her as they jumped back across the room, mouths agape. It felt like the world was on fire.

"Beckett...?"

"Kate, sweetie, calm down..."

And in an instant the fire was gone and she was back to normal.

Lanie was edging closer to her, an arm reached out in front of her.

"Let me just..."

She pried Kate's jaw open, poking at her teeth with the other. "Did you get some dental work done recently?"

Kate ran her tongue over the ridge of her teeth. They felt normal "No. Why?"

"Well... they sort of..."

Kate shifted again on the cold metal of the table as her best friend and partner continued to stare at her hesitantly. Why were they being so weird and asking about her teeth?

"Kate..."

"Just spit it out, Lanie."

After a moment, when Lanie still refused to answer her, she turned her attention to Castle who was still staring at her wide-eyed.

"Castle," She whimpered as he slowly edging back toward her. "What's going on?"

He blinked at her.

"Kate, sweetie," Lanie chimed in, her words slow and soft as she reached out to take her friend's hand. "Something happened. You turned into a..."

Kate's eyes widened slightly. "A what?"

"A vampire..."

Both women turned to Castle as he whispered out the words, wonder and disbelief filling his voice.

Beckett felt her eyebrows hit her hairline. "A vampire? Really, Castle?"

"Actually, sweetie, he's not lying... you changed."

"Changed?"

"Fangs, glowing yellow eyes."

"Fangs?"

Lanie huffed as she turned and picked a hand-held mirror off the table behind her. "Here. See for yourself."

Kate rolled her eyes again as she reached out and snatched the mirror with one hand her other occupied with shooing away Castle who was now poking at her face, with one finger eyes inches from her skin.

Holding the mirror up in front of her she froze. There was no reflection staring back at her.

Castle's pulled back, his eyes suddenly sullen, trained on his partner. "Beckett?"

Kate was shaking her head frantically, tears pooling in her eyes. "No. No, this isn't happening."

She held her arm out. "Do a blood test, study me, something! Tell me I'm shot up with LSD and hallucinating."

Lanie simply nodded, pulling out a tourniquet and gently taking the detective's arm, turning it so she could see the veins. Kate flinched slightly as Lanie tied the giant rubber band around her bicep.

Drugs. It had to be drugs.

Then she watched, silent dread pooling in the pit of her stomach as Lanie poked at her arm, squeezing where veins should be.

"Sweetie," Lanie piped up after a moment. "There's no blood."

Kate swallowed the lump, which had been building in her throat. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that your vein should be expanding with blood right here from the pressure of the tourniquet. There's nothing. In fact I can't see your veins at all. It's like they're empty. No blood pumping."

No. This was _not_ happening. She was dreaming, she was drugged, something. There was no such thing as _vampires._ Next she would be spouting on about fairies and unicorns.

No.

She would prove it. She would show them that this was simply some strange reaction to some crazy street drug they had never seen before.

Beckett's hand shot out, grabbing the first thing she could find: a scalpel and sliced it over her wrist.

"Kate!"

"Beckett!"

She shook her head. "See, I'm..."

But her words died in her throat as the blade clattered to the floor because where the cool metal had sliced through her skin, she expected to see bright red blood spilling over her hand, running down her palm and coating her fingers, but there was only torn skin.

She watched, stunned, eyes glued to her arm, as the cut mended itself before her eyes.

"I'm... dead."

* * *

A/N: This little tale is based off a story request made to me by Lietomebaby, which long story short was "Beckett's a vampire". If you haven't run screaming from this already please stick around because it's going to be a fun one, full of normal Caskett goodness with a good dash of angst, and completely worth it in the end. ;)

Thank you to Lietomebaby for this prompt, Angie for the awesome graphic and to Kate for the beta and for listening to me and helping as I hashed out the logistics to this, including informing me on the anatomy & physiology of a vampire.


	2. Chapter 2

Nightminds

Chapter 2

Staring in the mirror, she made eye contact with the life-sized Bobba Fett, who was staring back at her like he was waiting for her to do a trick. Hell, she couldn't blame him; she was waiting for her to do a trick also.

She rubbed her temple out of habit, not that it hurt. Nothing hurt. She could hear Castle pacing the room, muttering to himself nonsensically. He had been for the past 20 minutes since she had locked herself in the bathroom, staring at the mirror— the mirror that didn't give her a reflection back. She wasn't sure if she'd ever get used to this-not seeing herself again. Not that she was a vain person, she didn't spend hours upon hours admiring herself, but it would be strange to never look up and see her face again. At least she liked how her eyebrows were styled last. She huffed at her own stupidity.

Why would she be thinking about that now? She was dead. Dead. That was more important than the arch in her eyebrows.

What was she saying? She wasn't dead, nor was she undead. She was dreaming, yes, that was it, dreaming. Some strange, drug-induced dream. Meth... it was meth. Did Meth do this to you? No, not Meth. Heroin or LSD, then. That had to be it. She would wake up in the morning with a hell of a headache and possibly symptoms of withdrawal, but she would be 'human' again— a good, old-fashioned, breathing, bleeding human.

And would Castle stop that incessant pacing? What was he wearing, lead boots? It was driving her nuts.

"Castle!"

He didn't answer, and his feet were still clomping back and forth. Good God why couldn't the man be light-footed?

She closed her eyes and blew out a breath. At least she could still do that if she thought about it. The way Lanie had explained it her lungs and diaphragm were still operational, as was her stomach. Her body worked as much as it needed to. Processed food, pumped nutrition. Blood. She blanched. She would have to eat blood... Her stomach rumbled at the thought. She was hungry.

No. No. Those were the drugs speaking. She was not a _vampire. _She would not be eating blood anytime soon. She was just getting the munchies; she needed a snack and maybe a glass of wine to calm her nerves.

"Castle!" She called again as she flung the door open, expecting to see the object of her current rant, but only finding empty space.

"Castle?" She questioned again as she made her way through the bedroom and into the rest of the loft. She could still hear the steps. Where was he?

"Hey," His tone was cheery, his smile too bright, as he moved around the kitchen, pulling down various dishes, spices and utensils. "How are you feeling?"

"Have you been out here the whole time?"

"Yeah. I figured you would want some time alone after everything that happened last night."

"Last night?" Kate questioned before whipping around to look out the window. The sun was starting to peek over the horizon.

"Don't worry," His eyes flickered to the window and quickly back to her. "The windows are tinted, so you'll be safe in here."

"Safe?" Kate let out a huff of a laugh. "It's just the sun, it's not like I'm going to spontaneously combust."

She rolled her eyes at the look he was giving her— hesitant, slightly worried, like _she_ was the one who was crazy for saying she _wasn't _'undead'.

"Come on Castle. I'm _not _a vampire. Someone drugged me, and this is just a crazy delusion my brain decided to concoct because you forced me to watch all those stupid vampire movies with you."

Castle deflated slightly as he rounded the kitchen island and slid onto the stool next to her, one hand reaching out to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. "Kate, sweetheart, I love you no matter what, you know that. I'm so grateful that you aren't... dead, but I saw you. You changed."

Anxiety rose inside her once again. This was not happening. And how could he be so calm about this? "Castle..."

"Just be honest with yourself, Kate. What do you feel?"

Only concern reflected back at her.

"I..." She slumped slightly in her chair as he wound his fingers through hers. Silent support. "I can hear... everything."

She started as she thought about the past few hours. "And it's louder than it should be. I could hear you walking around out here like you were standing right next to me, and I could hear the boys calling for me at the warehouse, even though they said they were outside. And everything is brighter; Lanie almost blinded me with that penlight, and when I walked into the loft I could have sworn the lights were on before you flipped the switch."

"So you can see better?"

"Yeah," Kate began to perk up, sitting a little bit straighter in her chair. "And smell. In fact, what are you making? It smells delicious."

A small smile broke across Castle's face. "I made you a smoothie; you want to try it?"

Kate's stomach growled as if on command, causing her to smile and Castle to let out a relieved laugh. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Yes, I would love to try it."

He poured the thick pink drink into a tall glass with a flourish, topping it with a strawberry and straw. "Voila. Drink up, and then you are going to bed. No arguments. You are calling in sick today."

Kate sucked in a gulp as she forced herself not to argue. The fact was that she was starting to feel the effects of the day— being knocked out in the warehouse, getting poked and prodded by Lanie and potentially drugged was all pretty tiring.

_Oh yes_, she felt herself moan. So very good. She could taste the tang of berries dancing on her tongue, mixed with something... metallic, not that she was complaining, because it tasted incredible.

"This is fantastic, Castle. What's in this?"

"Oh, well you know," Castle flitted a hand as he turned his back to her, facing the mess on the counter. "Strawberries, blueberries, banana, raspberries a little yogurt, a pint of O neg."

Kate froze, the straw at her lips. A pint of what now?

"What?"

His body stiffened at the venom dripping from her voice. And her eyes narrowed further when she heard the string of curses he was muttering under his breath.

Slowly, he turned to look at her, both hands braced on the edge of the counter behind him, and he looked... scared.

Sliding off the stool, she stalked around the island to stand in front of him, watched his hands come up in surrender as she did.

"Kate, you need to calm down."

Calm down? Why was he saying that? She was calm, plenty calm. She would show him how _calm_ she was. "Castle, why the hell would you put blood in my smoothie?"

"Because I learned the hard way it doesn't mix well with coffee?"

"Castle..." Joking? He was joking right now? This was not funny.

She squinted up into his eyes, her mouth open to respond, when she caught a flash of something else swirling with the pain.

The emotion hit her like a shockwave from a nuclear bomb. She could feel it in her gut, the realization coiling up in her like a spring. Fear.

Her jaw fell open as she reared back suddenly. He truly was afraid of her. She turned her back to him, pressing the heel of her hand to her forehead. Stupid. She was so stupid. He was _acting_ calm, joking around, putting on a front so she wouldn't see.

Her eyes squeezed shut only to fly open once again as she rubbed a hand over her brow. There was a pronounced ridge under her fingertips. Slowly she drew her tongue across the edge of her teeth feeling, the pointed ends of her canines, sharp enough to cut a gash in her tongue.

Vampire...

Almost laughing to herself, she sucked in a breath. She hadn't been breathing at all until she thought about it. She was dead. Undead. And she could hear the baby on the floor above them crying. She could see perfectly through the open door of the bedroom even though the room was pitch black. She could smell the tomato that was nearly past its prime in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator. And she liked the taste of blood in her berry blend smoothie.

Kate lifted her eyes to see him watching her, and a sense of relief flooded through her like a warm blanket, coating what was left of her heart, her soul and her reasoning as to why was reflected back at her through his expression. She was back to normal.

Her shoulders slumped as the tension drained out of her body, and she shuffled back to her seat, grabbed the end of the straw with her tongue and proceeded to suck down another gulp.

"It's good, Castle," she whispered, forcing a smile.

His body relaxed slightly, and she continued to drink, her eyes glued to the countertop.

After a few long minutes with the sound of Castle's breathing and the slight slurp of the straw filling the silence, her eyes were drawn to the sight of the sun easing its way over the skyline, rays filling the space between the buildings. She felt a pang in her chest. Not her heart, because her heart no longer beat.

She would never feel the sunshine against her skin again. Something had happened to her, something she couldn't comprehend, and now she was dead, a creature of the night.

Pushing the glass away from her, appetite gone, she stretched her legs down to the floor.

"I'm going to go to bed. Exhausted," she explained with a forced smile.

She could sense the change in him as she turned toward the room, the tension streaming from his pores, altering his scent.

Her fist clenched at her side, and she prayed that he wouldn't follow her. The cool band of the ring decorating the fourth finger of her left hand dug into her skin, the weight of the stone inside suddenly feeling heavier.

* * *

He didn't move for a while, and she imagined him still standing in the same spot, arms braced against the counter but then he was puttering around the kitchen, putting away the fruit, using a sponge to wipe down the counter. He threw the empty packaging into the small trash compactor before dumping the dirty dishes into the sink. Then there was silence again, no running water, only the sound of his feet padding their way toward the room, the click of light switches along the way.

When he walked into the room, she was standing by the window, her head tilted against the frame, eyes shut, a hand pressed to the glass as rays of light bounced off the surface, struggling to reach her fingertips.

She let out a sigh. Though she hadn't wanted him here, now that he was standing in the doorway like a statue, her statue, her pillar, it was a comfort rather than a hindrance to have him there. Her need for him to be in this devastated her, because what if he didn't want her anymore?

"What am I going to do, Castle?"

People lived, thrived in the sun. Their wedding was planned for noon in the Hamptons. She chased down suspects in broad daylight. She went for runs at sunrise.

"What are we going to do?"

The words were barely there, a whisper on her lips and her hand drifted down to press against her belly..

They had talked about kids; how she finally decided that she wanted them. One, two at the most, but still. It had been a big step, and neither one of them was getting any younger, so they had decided that soon…

But now, there would be no kids; there would be no growing old together.

"Oh, sweetheart.._."_

Her eyes shot over to him at the words, but he only stood there, silent, watching her, any other words— platitudes, denials— died on his tongue. She shook her head. Her mind was playing more tricks on her; he never called her sweetheart. He knew she hated it, but now? Right now, even the most saccharine of endearments would be welcome.

Pity filled his eyes, swimming in a haze of apprehension. He would grow old and she wouldn't. She would stay the same, young, beautiful woman she had always been and he would continue to age. Fifty, sixty, ninety. He would be on his deathbed, and she would still be thirty-five years old.

"Forever is a lot longer now."

* * *

A/N: Wow, thank you all so much for the enthusiasm shown for this story. I was a little apprehensive at first, not sure what to expect, but you have embraced this with open arms. Kate- as always thank you for the beta, speaking my same kind of crazy, and fangirling with me after hours of brainstorming, once we figure out a plot line that worked. Awesome.


	3. Chapter 3

Nightminds

Chapter 3

The sound of steady beeping filled her ears and she groaned, face scrunching as she buried her face further into the pillow. No, it was too bright.

She moaned again, shaking her head into the pillow. She didn't want to get up yet.

Her arm flailed out for the alarm, slamming the heel of her hand on the snooze button.

His chuckle sounded from the other side of the room.

Ignoring him, Kate moaned again as she rolled onto her back, one arm bent up, resting across her eyes to block out the burning rays of sun. Why was it so bright?

The events of the day before began to return, flooding her still waking mind: warehouse, death, vampire. Right.

Her eyes flickered open to see him staring down at her, laughter dancing in his eyes.

"Mmm. What time is it?"

"A little after four."

"PM?"

She shook her head as his smile grew slightly, his hand now running up and down the line of her arm soothingly. Of course it was in the afternoon, the sun was shining so bright it was like the gates of heaven were opening for her.

"Can't you be useful and turn off the sun, Castle?"

He laughed again and she felt the bed dip as he nudged his hip onto the plush surface. His warm hand had drifted to skim the strip of exposed skin between her tank top and shorts, it slowly worked it's way up, snaking under the ribbed fabric to stroke her stomach, and, oh god, that felt good. Too good. She stretched leisurely, bending her body to press her skin more firmly into his touch. At this rate, she was never going to get out of bed again.

"Dying turned you into a grumpy slug."

Her eyes flew open at that. He was actually joking about her dying. Dying. Dead. No longer of the living.

"That's not funny, Castle."

His face fell at that, seriousness filling his gaze as his fingers found hers among the mound of blankets. "No, it's not, but you're only mostly dead, you know. Still slightly alive."

She rolled her eyes as he leaned down to kiss her, his lips caressing hers gently. He still wanted to kiss her, to touch her. That was a good sign. Her free hand came up to cup his cheek, wrap around his neck, pulling him harder down on her, deepening the kiss, nipping at his bottom lip. She moaned as he pulled back. Not nearly long enough.

Everything was heightened. Every feeling, every sense, like all her nerve cells were working overtime, and in that moment she didn't care that she had things she was supposed to do, places to go, problems to worry about. She had to figure out what she was going to tell Captain Gates, her father, Alexis, Martha, the boys. She had to find out what had happened to her, why, how. This relationship, this bond that she and Castle had worked so long to build could come tumbling down in an instant; he could decide that it was too hard, that he didn't want to grow old without her. He could decide that she was a disgusting creature, but none of it mattered. The only things she could comprehend were the feel of his palms, warm and comforting on her skin, the smell of his breath, infused with coffee and toothpaste, the taste of his lips and that slight tinge of blood that trickled from that place where she had bit him…

Her eyes flew open. She'd bitten him.

His lips chased after hers even as she turned her head away and only when they came in contact with her ear did his eyes slowly open.

"Kate?"

She screwed her eyes shut, arms bent up, hands fisted on either side of her head.

"What's wrong?

She shook her head. She couldn't even face him right now.

He shifted, his hand leaving the mattress and he grunted out, "Got a little feisty."

Her lips pressed tightly together. It wasn't funny. His voice was light, joking, but it wasn't funny.

"Hey, Kate, come on," his hand traced up her forearm, attempted to snake his fingers between hers but her hand remained clenched. "What's a little love nip every now and then?

Kate pulled her arm away, shaking him off as she let out a grunt of disgust. "I bit you. I'm a vampire and I bit you."

"It's not a big deal…"

She shook her head again as she rolled over to the other side of the bed, tearing the sheets off of her so her feet were free to swing to the ground. Not a big deal? It was definitely a big deal. Huge. _Life changing. _And he was acting like this was all nothing, like everything was normal, like her enjoying the taste of his blood was an everyday occurrence.

"Kate…" his voice deflated as he watched her walk away from the bed. "Where are you going?"

"To take a shower…"

The second half of the statement hung unsaid between them. _... I feel disgusting._

She wanted to chastise herself for how low her voice was, how broken. She wasn't this person anymore, the one who didn't feel right in her own skin, the one weighed down by the weight of the world. She had fought to overcome all of that, and she had won. She had put it behind her, she had moved on. She had let her mother rest in peace, and she hated that it was crawling back-that feeling of not being deserving.

She forced herself not to look at him. She couldn't bear to see the pity reflected back in his eyes, to see his lips pursed at the corners from where he was forcing himself not to crack a joke or invite himself along into the shower, attempts to ease the tension.

She swung the door shut with a little too much forced and her body slumped back against it, deflating in on itself. Her gaze landed on the life-sized alien bounty hunter in the far corner and she forced out a sigh as her head tilted back to land against the wood.

At this rate she and Boba were bound to become good friends.

* * *

She couldn't stand it anymore, being in the loft constantly. Castle had disappeared from the room while she had been pacing the shower. Sometimes it still hit her, how strange it was that the shower was big enough for her to actually pace in, from one side to the other, the water from the five jets on the long wall hitting her as she did.

When she emerged from the room, hair still dripping down her back, towel wrapped securely around her body, she found him in his chair, laptop in his lap, heels propped up on the desk, typing away. He didn't even looked up, and, in a way, him giving her, without protest, the space she normally begged for, made her even more upset than the constant hovering.

Her hand clenched at her side as she walked to the fridge, leaning against the open door as she stared inside. Her stomach churned when her eyes landed on the few bags of blood still occupying the second shelf. Lanie had brought them by the day before, had picked them up from a friend at the hospital.

Running a finger over one of the cold flimsy plastic pouches, she pulled it off the shelf, brought it up to her lips. She had to get used to it. This was her life now, drinking the blood of others since her body could no longer produce it's own. Taking a deep breath she allowed herself to smell it, look at it, feel it, warm it slightly with her hands before unhinging her jaw and biting down into it.

As soon as she swallowed the last mouthful, her eyes drifted back open and she stared down at the drained plastic as her tongue darted out to lick a droplet before it could trail down her chin. It wasn't terrible, there as a slight tang to it, but she shrugged it off as she turned to throw the bag into the trashcan.

"Creepy..."

Her eyes darted up to see Castle staring back at her, frozen in the doorway to his office, a look of fascinated horror painted on his face.

Her body went rigid. She couldn't do it, she couldn't handle having him looking at her like she was some vulgar creature to be studied for one of his books.

"I, um, I have to get out of here," she mumbled, running past him into the room.

She threw her still-wet hair up in a bun and was stuffing her feet into her shoes when he was beside her again.

"Wait, Kate, what's wrong? Where are you going?"

"Out."

His eyes glanced to the window. "But it's not dark yet."

"What do you care?"

"You could be killed."

"I'm already dead, remember? Or is that thought too _creepy_ for you?"

His body deflated as he chased her through the loft, his words; protests falling on deaf ears as she gathered her keys and let the door slam behind her.

She just needed to get out of there.

* * *

Everyone was talking so loudly, to the people next to them, on phones, to themselves. She couldn't even think anymore. But the one guy, that man she had passed a couple blocks back, he had been quiet, and silently watching her. Kate sped up slightly, tugging her jacket a little tighter around her body, not that she needed it. It was purely habit now. It didn't seem to matter the temperature, she was perfectly comfortable, like her body adapted. Folding a drying lock of hair behind her ear, she glanced back over her shoulder, catching a glimpse of the man behind her. Yes, she was definitely being followed.

He was taller than her, bigger, the hood of his black sweatshirt pulled up to cover his ducked head. Jeans and heavy boots completed the ensemble.

Making a quick decision, she turned, escaping into a narrow alley. She crouched down behind a pile of palates, giving herself a moment to get her wits together. She had enough on her mind in the moment; she didn't need to add a psycho to her list. She reached for her gun, only to hiss out a curse when she realized she had left it in the apartment in her haste to leave.

Well, on the plus side, she couldn't be killed. Raped or maimed sure, but she was safe from death.

She rolled her eyes at herself. That was one hell of an upside.

A foot crunched on a candy bar wrapper and she froze. If she still had a beating heart, it would be pounding out of her chest.

Another footstep. He was moving slowly. She could hear him as he pivoted on the ball of his foot.

She pulled her lip between her teeth. Then her eyes flew open. Realization dawning. She could take him. All of her senses were heightened. She was stronger; she could feel new levels of energy pulsing through her veins, threatening to overwhelm her. She wanted to sprint instead of walk. She was practically immortal. A smile slowly grew across her face. She was, for all intents and purposes, a superhero.

Shifting her weight, she positioned her feet so she could easily spring up, surprise her stalker, but a throat cleared and she froze, eyes swiveling up to see the man staring down at her, a single painted black eyebrow rising in question, taking the pointed, metal eyebrow ring with it.

"You finished hiding, yet?" His glib question was tinted with a British accent, a vast contrast to his heavy eyeliner, spiked hair and pale skin.

Kate stuttered back, eyes widening as he stuck out a hand complete with well-manicured black fingernails.

"Come on, Detective, I'm not going to bite… well, at least not again."

Kate eyed the hand warily, not moving from her position and the man rocked back on his heels. "Why were you following me?"

"Because I wanted to talk to you. Now, come on and get up before someone decides to be unwittingly ironic and calls the cops."

Kate stuck out her hand hesitantly, allowing the man to pull her up and out from her hiding place.

"Hello, Detective Beckett, it is so nice to finally meet you. I do apologize for the implied stalking; it wasn't my intent to make you nervous. My name is Sam, by the way," the man supplied, pumping their still joined hands up and down once before releasing her.

Kate could only stare at the figure in front of her, his hands now clutched behind his back, studded dog collar glistening in the fading light. "How do you know me?"

"Oh, my apologies, I'm not surprised you don't remember, but we met last night. I'm the one who made you into the incredible immortal being you are today," Sam replied with a flourish of his hand.

Kate could feel the bubble of anger billowing up inside her as she took in his smug expression, his calm demeanor. "You're the one who made me into this?"

She took a step toward him and his expression fell, hands coming up in surrender in front of him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, now, hold on sweetheart, I can explain. You can put the fighting face away."

"Sweetheart?" She had felt her body change this time and she silently welcomed the extra intimidation factor.

Sam took another step back, hopping slightly, startled, as the same candy wrapper crinkled under his foot. "I see we got off on the wrong foot. Maybe we can start again, someplace warmer and a little darker. I don't know about you but light like this makes my skin feel tingly and I don't quite like it, makes me doubt my immortality. There's a little place around the corner, decent eats, good coffee, how about I buy you a round?"

Kate crossed her arms across her chest and a growl emanated from her throat.

"Okay, look I know that this may not have been your first choice for a life path, but if you'll hear me out, there is a reason for this. There's something brewing and we need your help."

Kate eyed her 'sire' warily. He turned his head to look over his shoulder, worried eyes watching their surroundings from under a layer of gothic make-up. No matter dead or alive, she knew a desperate person when she saw them, and 'Sam' was oozing anxiety, she could practically smell it on him.

In fact, she could smell it on him. He was anxious and nervous but he wasn't lying. She scratched at her arm. Her skin was crawling slightly, a cross between the feeling of an insect bite and a limb that had fallen asleep. Maybe it would be best to get out of the light. Besides, she had questions, questions she wanted answered, and if Sam wanted her help, he would provide them.

"Okay, fine. Coffee. Let's go."

Sam visibly deflated before her, his shoulders sagging as he dropped his hands only to bring one back up to run over his spiked hair.

"You're not an easy woman to find by the way. It took me the better part of the day to track you down."

Beckett startled, glancing up at the tall, gangly man walking beside her as they headed down the sidewalk, against the flow of foot traffic, much to the annoyance of the rest of the population.

"How _did_ you find me anyway?"

Sam shrugged. "I know a guy."

"A guy?"

Sam turned to look at her, his pace never faltering even as he sidestepped a particularly hurried pedestrian. "Yeah, Terrance, your night doorman, actually. Ran into him at The Underground a couple hours ago. Man's a Godsend, if it weren't for him I would still be searching the streets, trying to sniff you out."

Kate gave him a double take. Terrance? The Underground? Sniffing? She wasn't even sure where to start.

"Wait, Terrance is a vampire? My Terrance? The sixty year old gentleman who helps me with my groceries?"

"Four hundred and twenty-two actually, though next time you see him, make sure you tell him he doesn't look a day over four hundred. He's starting to get a tad bit sensitive about his age."

"Four hundred and twenty…"

"Two."

Kate nodded, willing her jaw to stay shut. Her doorman was older than the country.

"Ah, here we are."

Kate glanced up to see a blue neon sign simply reading "Diner" blinking back at her, the bulbs buzzing as they fought to stay lit.

The smell of French fries, coffee and bacon greeted her as she stepped past him into the warm space. The booths and tables were mostly empty and the white haired woman behind the counter ordered them to find their own table, her voice like gravel, before continuing to wipe down the bar with a closing snap of her gum.

Sam picked two menus and led her to a booth in the back, secluded, away from the prying ears of others.

"The southwest omelet is to die for by the way," Sam informed her with a quirk of his lips. "Vampire humor."

"Ah, funny."

Any attempt at conversation stilled when the waitress came over to take their orders and filled their coffee cups.

"So, you want to tell me what's going on?" Beckett prompted.

Sam sighed, taking a sip of the steaming hot beverage before him and winced before reaching over and pulling five sugar packets from the holder, tearing them all open at once. Kate's nose crinkled as she watched him dump them all into the cup, swirling the sludge around once with a spoon before taking another sip, humming in satisfaction.

"We're not all monsters you know, not like the movies and TV shows make us seem anyway. We're not soulless; we don't just go around killing people for the fun of it. We are just like all those people walking around out there, just like you were. We live our lives, we have jobs and loved ones, but just like humans there are good vampires and bad vampires. Personalities are not only maintained when we are transformed, but in some ways they are amplified. I'm sure you've started to notice some of the changes by now: sight, smell, sound, strength. Same goes for emotions. For a person like you, could mean good and bad things. You strive for justice but you can also be a loose canon, a daredevil. You feel like you're invincible. You'll have to watch out for that."

Kate blinked at him, surprised, her mug halfway to her lips. "How do you know so much about me?"

Sam shifted in his seat, leaning forward as he continued, his voice lowered. "About a year ago there were rumblings of a new player in town and not the good kind. He was a small time drug dealer with big aspirations. Like I said before, personalities, motivations, are amplified once you're turned. This guy got into trafficking. Drugs, guns, girls. Anything you can think of. But recently he stepped up his game, started trafficking blood. Live blood.

We wanted to take care of him from within but he's gotten too big, started to build a militia, so we had to bring in outside help. We've been keeping an eye on a few cops, agents from various federal agencies, we wanted to chose the right person but Damien caught on to what we were doing and decided to send us a warning. The girl whose murder you were investigating, she was his latest victim, a message to us to back off."

"Cassandra Moore," Kate filled in, nodding.

"Yeah, Cassie," Sam agreed with a sad smile.

Kate eyed him, reading between the lines. There was a story there.

"Who was she to you?"

Sam's answer died on his lips as the waitress placed their plates in front of them: two southwestern omelets.

Kate flashed the waitress a smile with a quiet thank you before turning her attention back to her conundrum of a companion.

"She was my daughter."

Kate's stomach fell. His daughter…

"Most people assumed that we were siblings, though, I'm sure in a few years she would have been mistaken for my mother, but she was my baby. I was turned right after she was born and I have had the pleasure of watching her age, to grow, while I haven't. I've always known I would outlive her but I never thought I would lose her so soon, or this way. She was a good girl, she didn't deserve this…"

Sam's eyes drifted to study the sticky linoleum floor, his food cooling, forgotten in front of him. After a moment he shifted in his chair, shaking his head and clearing his throat as he snapped out of whatever memory he had fallen into. "You were given the case and we had already been watching you, considering you. We need your help, Detective."

Kate's jaw worked, but she couldn't get any words to come out as she stared at her companion. And just like that, she could feel her hackles rising again, fury burning in the pit of her stomach, threatening to overthrow her. Her fingers tightened around her fork and she felt the metal give way under the pressure, becoming bent, twisted. Like her.

"So, what, you just figured I would be the convenient choice? I'm supposed to be getting married in a month. I was supposed to have a honeymoon in Barbados and then come home and make babies-have a normal life, just for once. That's not going to happen now. I have a job, and friends and a family, and none of that will ever be the same because of you. So, I'm sorry about your daughter, I really am, but you're talking about stopping a guy who's killing people, well guess what?" Kate pushed herself out of the booth in one smooth motion, looping her scarf around her neck as she did. "You killed me, and it will be a cold day in hell before I help a murderer like you."

* * *

**A/N: Thank you to all of you for your patience, I know that these updates are slow in coming, and thank you for your lovely reviews and support for this little quirky story. Kate, thank you for being a constant sounding board and for appreciating the random Princess Bride reference (props to anyone else who saw that by the way) you are a rockstar beta of epic proportions.**


	4. Chapter 4

Nightminds

Chapter 4

The sun had set by the time Kate pushed her way out of the diner and back onto the bustling New York sidewalk. She automatically wrapped her arms back around her as she pushed her way through the sea of businessmen and women on their way home from work and couples heading out for dinner. A group of college students burst out laughing and she cringed, pulling her collar tighter around her.

Everything was so loud. She pressed a finger to her ear. Why wouldn't they all just shut up?

And she hadn't even gotten the chance to ask Sam about any of this before storming out of the diner. Yeah, maybe she had been a bit hasty, but he had _killed _her to gain her help, and she'd be damned if she were going to be used like that.

She snorted to herself.

She already _was_ damned, cursed to live in this body, never aging, never changing, for eternity.

She let out a growl as a man sideswiped her hurrying the opposite way down the sidewalk.

"Excuse me," she called after him only to hear a choice four-letter word thrown back at her.

She froze, feet pivoting on their own, and before she knew it her hand was clamping down on the man's shoulder, forcing him to spin around and face her.

"What did you say?"

The man's face screwed up in confusion. She could smell the irritation streaming from his pores. "Nothing lady, now leave me the fuck alone."

"No, you said something. After you ran into me. I heard you."

"I didn't say nothing, you bitch. Now leave me alone."

He turned only to have Kate grab his arm and spin him around again before letting her free fist fly at his face.

"Asshole," she grumbled before turning and heading back the way she came, smirking to herself as she heard the man calling obscenities after her.

Damn that felt good.

* * *

She paused in the hallway outside the loft, one hand pressed against the cool wood. Castle was in the office; she could hear the clacking of his keyboard. Guilt crept up in her gut as she remembered the look on his face when she had stormed out of the loft earlier, but she quelled the feeling as she thought of the reason why she had stormed out.

Her fiancé thought she was creepy: a circus freak to be watched in sick fascination, and she couldn't live like that.

She had to go in there, she had to talk to him, because over the past two years that is what they had done, they had talked to each other, they had worked through problems together, even when they both would rather have either run in the opposite direction, or pretended that the problem never existed in the first place, taking their anger, their frustration out on each other in between the sheets instead. And as inviting as that second prospect seemed right now, it wasn't going to solve anything in the long run.

Slowly, she turned the handle and let the door creak open. His fingers were still working furiously at the keyboard, and he was murmuring to himself, incoherent fragments of sentences streaming out from the office.

She toed her shoes off in the entry, peeling off her jacket as she padded across the living room. She paused in the doorway, leaning against the doorjamb as she watched him, listened to the random ramblings. The quirk of a smile melted off her face as her brow furrowed in confusion, her eyes focused on his lips. They weren't moving.

And unless Castle had suddenly become a ventriloquism aficionado, he really wasn't talking at all…

She took a step into the room. "Castle?"

Her inquisitive eyes watched as he jumped in his seat, hands frozen in place over the computer. "Kate! Hi. When did you get home? I, um, I didn't hear you. I'm so glad you're here; I was worried. Why are you looking at me like that?"

She stepped across the room, still silently assessing him, and ignored his yelp as she pulled his chair out and spun him around to face her. Grasping his face in her palms she tilted his head up so she could look in his eyes.

"Castle, I need you to think something right now."

"Wha?" He mumbled out from squished lips. "What you mean?"

Kate shook her head, brow still furrowed in concentration. "I need you to pick a thought, a song, a poem, I don't care what, and think about it really clearly."

"Uh."

She watched as his eyes rolled up in concentration. And then a very clear image of her own naked chest flashed into her mind.

"Holy crap."

Stepping back, she pulled her hands back like they had been burned and he pushed himself out of his chair as she continued to stare at his head.

Suddenly her amazement turned to anger, and her hand shot out to slap him on the chest.

"Stop thinking about my boobs!"

"What? They're like the desktop image of my mind. Would you rather me be thinking about someone else's?"

He froze, words dying on his lips, as she continued to stare at him, lip caught between her teeth.

"Wait… how did you know I was thinking about your chest?"

"I, um…" her explanation trailed off as she realized that she didn't even know what was going on. "I think I can read your mind."

"That's…" His eyes lit up like a child's on Christmas. "That's _awesome_!"

He held out a hand in front of him as drew in a breath, eyes focusing on the bookcase in the corner. "I'm going to think about something else and you tell me if you can see it."

Kate nodded, a fist coming up to cover her mouth as Castle closed his eyes in concentration.

Her jaw dropped, and her hand shot out for the second time in as many minutes, and Castle stumbled back at the force of the blow to his chest as she turned and stalked out of the room.

"I can't _believe _you were thinking about that!" She whirled around when she heard him hurrying after her, and poked a finger into his chest. "We promised each other we would never speak about that night _ever_ again!"

"But I didn't say anything!"

"But you were thinking about it!"

"Yeah, that's right, Kate, I was _thinking_ about it. You can hear what I think."

Kate froze, the realization dawning on her. She could read his thoughts... her mind flashed to the guy on the street, the complete look of confusion painted on his face. Oh, that totally explained a lot.

She could read people's minds.

"So cool…"

"It's not _cool_, Castle, it's annoying. I can hear _everything._"

"I didn't say anything…"

Her eyes darted to his. "Great, and I can't even tell when I'm doing it."

"Well, maybe there's a way to turn it off. Here I'm going to think about something again, and you try really hard not to hear it."

Kate nodded as he screwed his eyes shut again. She allowed her own eyes to drift shut as she concentrated on not being able to hear his thoughts. A moment later her hand shot out for a third time.

"Bastard."

Castle's hand came to rub the spot on his chest her hand had connected with all three times as he let out a groan. Having at least the decency to look chagrinned. "Well, that didn't work."

"This is awful, Castle," Kate moaned as she rounded the kitchen counter. "I can hear everyone, and it's so loud. I can barely think, and it's only getting worse. I'm pretty sure I just assaulted a guy on the street for no reason. I mean, sure he shouldn't have been thinking what he did, and it really did feel good to punch him but still…"

"Wait, you punched someone?"

Kate ducked her head, as heat crept up her neck, coloring her cheeks. "Sort of… but you didn't hear what he was thinking, Castle."

Both of their eyes widened at the whine that escaped her lips. Kate Beckett rarely whined. Her head dropped to her arms, which were resting on the countertop. "Sam said this would happen."

"What? Who's Sam? He said you would hear voices?"

"No," Kate huffed as she forced her head back up. "He said my senses, my instincts would be heightened. He said it might make me more of a loose canon. And honestly, I didn't feel like I was doing anything wrong. The guy insulted me, and I just went after him."

She was pacing the small space between the island and the counter now, her teeth working at her thumbnail. She looked over at Castle to find him still rubbing his chest.

He shrugged in response. "Just stings a little…"

_And by sting, I mean it feels like my pecs just got a deep tissue massage._

"Castle!"

"What?"

"Stop thinking like that, it's not funny."

"It's not my fault you're strong, Kate."

Her hands came up to run through her hair, making it fan out into a halo around her face, framing her wild and worried eyes.

_God, you're hot._

"Focus, Castle."

_I was focusing…_

"Not on me! Well, on me, but not on me physically."

"Okay, okay, so who is this 'Sam' guy? Girl? Person?"

Kate breathed out a sigh. "Sam-guy by the way-."

"Thank you."

"-Is apparently the vampire who made me. He was stalking me earlier. He said he turned me because they needed my help. Apparently, our victim, Cassandra Moore, was his daughter."

He listened, his thoughts a quiet whir, as she repeated the story Sam had told her in the diner.

_No way, this is so much better than __Twilight__…_

"Focus, Castle."

"Right. Sorry."

He drew in a breath as he rocked back on his heels. "So, we just need to find this Sam guy."

Her head whipped around. "Are you serious? Did you not hear me, Castle? This is the guy, the thing that killed me! He could have come to me, he could have told me what was going on and that he needed my help, instead he abducted me and turned me into… this!"

She could feel his eyes on her as she resumed her pacing, his thoughts echoing through her mind.

_Would you have really, Kate? Or would you have just dismissed him as a lunatic._

"Stop it, Castle. You're supposed to be on _my_ side in this. What about getting married, having kids? That's not going to happen now, or do you even care about that?"

A flame suddenly burst in his normally cool and calm irises. "Of course I care! I haven't stopped thinking about how this affects us, but you know what, Kate? I don't care. I don't care that you're never going to age, honestly, I'm kind of thrilled about that. I don't care that we will never have children of our own, because you know what, we'll figure out another way. We'll adopt, they're have to be kids out there who have been orphaned because of these evil vampires, right? No one else knows you're dead, Kate, this doesn't have to affect our lives if we don't want it to."

He was standing right in front of her now, his hands reaching for hers, and she didn't have to be able to read his mind to know he was being sincere; she could see it in his eyes.

"But this Sam guy might be our best bet to find out what's going on here. If he's telling the truth, there is a group out there hurting innocent people, and above all that's what we do, what _you_ do— protect the innocents."

Her head ducked as his hands trailed up her arms, until they were rubbing her shoulders soothingly, and she felt the tension stream from her veins. He was right; people were dying.

"There's one more tiny problem…"

"What's that?"

"I _may_ have told him, very nicely, to fuck off."

The chuckle in his head echoed out through his lips as he leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "Of course you did."

"You think we'll still be able to find him?"

"I think we at least need to try."

* * *

"Hello, Detective."

Both Kate and Castle whirled around at the sound of the British accent in time to see Sam stepping out of the dark shadows outside their apartment building.

Kate took a step forward as Castle gripped at her arm, eyeing the heavily made-up man. "Sam."

Sam nodded at Castle, who finally let go of his vise grip in order to cross his arms over his puffed-out chest.

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to come back out and look for me. Honestly, I'm kind of surprised. I thought it would take you longer; I had pegged you for the stubborn type. I even grabbed a puzzle book for while I was waiting."

Her gaze dropped to the Sudoku book cradled in his left hand.

"How do you know we were even looking for you? We could have just been going out for a walk."

Sam smirked as he took another step toward them. "Oh, come now, Detective, we both know you've figured out the whole mindreading thing and were coming to seek my counsel."

"How did you…?"

Kate rolled her eyes at her own naivety. "Mindreading, right."

"I can teach you how to control it," Sam bargained. "If you agree to at least hear me out about Damon. And, who knows, I may have a couple more tips and incentives hidden up my sleeves."

Kate crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't like quid pro quo.

"He may be worth hearing out, Kate."

"Yeah, _Kate_, listen to your breathing boy toy."

"Hey! That's breathing _man_ toy to you, Edward."

Sam shot Castle an affronted look, growling as he took a step forward. "I don't sparkle."

Castle's hands rose in surrender. "Okay, I'm sorry. No sparkling."

With another roll of her eyes, Kate turned so she was standing between the two men, a hand reached out in either direction.

"Okay, fine. You have one hour."

Sam nodded. "I'll only need half."

Sam gestured to the door of the building, and she turned back toward their apartment, returning Terrance's small finger wave as they passed.

Sam paused to perform a complicated handshake with the older man and Castle came up behind her, leaning over her shoulder to whisper in her ear.

"How do they…?"

"Apparently Terrance is actually four hundred and twenty-two."

"Damn, I'd say he didn't look a day over four hundred."

Kate turned her head up to look at him as his hand snaked around her waist, his eyes glued to the two vampires, rapt. Maybe, just maybe, they were going to be okay.

* * *

**A/N: Well, we may not have a new episode of Castle tonight but I hope this update helped ease the pain a little. I know quirky AUs may not be everyone's taste but you all keep on coming back for more and therefore rock. Kate- thank you for making sure nothing in this story unintentionally sparkles. ;) Until next time- Alex. **


	5. Chapter 5

Nightminds

Chapter 5

"No… no! Concentrate. Look me in the eyes. Don't blink. You have no reason to blink anymore. You _have_ to maintain eye contact."

Kate let out a deep growl from the back of her throat as she sat in the middle of loft's living room, perched on a chair. Her eyes fell to focus on her lap, legs crossed under her, as she ran her hands through her hair, blunt fingertips massaging her scalp. She had lost track of how long they had been doing this; Castle had gone to bed hours ago. She had finally given in, agreeing to look into this Damon character, even if she had no idea how she was going to explain this new lead to the boys the next day at the precinct, or even how she was going to be able to go to work in broad daylight in the first place.

_Sunscreen._

Sam's voice echoed in her head.

_What? _Her eyes darted back up to meet his.

_That's how you'll be able to go out in the daylight. Wear sunglasses, so the sun won't blind you, long pants, long sleeves and lots of sunscreen, the strongest you can find. You won't be able to be outside for long but you'll be able to stand it for short periods of time._

She nodded. Of course, sunscreen; it was so logical it bordered on being completely asinine.

"Now concentrate. I shouldn't be able to get inside your head like that."

Kate nodded again. He was right; she should be able to do this. After all, she was an expert at building walls. The irony was almost palpable. She had forced herself to knock the walls down so she could live her life, but, now, life had been cut short and in death, she was forced to build them back up.

And just like that she felt the sounds begin to fade away. A smile tugged at her lips as her gaze locked with Sam's. She could mentally see herself placing each of the bricks into place, the proverbial wall being built in her mind, one row at a time. She took each of her thoughts and shoved them behind it: categorizing, organizing, prioritizing. Cases, emotions, random stray utterances.

"Good. Good! They are getting quieter."

Sam's eyes narrowed and she could feel him tugging at her mind, trying to force a thought out of her. A stray memory from her childhood flew toward him. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she saw the final few bricks floating into place. She saw it as a fortress, built out of brick and mortar. A row of cinderblocks fell into place behind the initial barricade. Guards dressed in armor perched on the top; a ladder ran down the side of the building. A drawbridge over a moat. A small laugh flew past her lips. She had built a castle in her mind to keep her safe. She could only imagine what her Castle would say about that.

Suddenly Sam collapsed back into the couch, hands with painted black nails flying up to press against his head, rubbing in slow circles on his temples.

"Damn."

She felt her own mind relax, the image of the fortress still floating in the front of her thoughts, and she sank back into the chair, her head cocked to the side in silent question.

"I had the feeling you were strong but you're better at that than I had imagined."

Kate shook her head, eyes rolling up as she mumbled. "If there is one thing I'm good at, it's building walls."

Sam's eyes turned sympathetic. "Walls can be good; we all need to be protected sometimes. You just need to make sure you're using them for the right purpose, to make yourself stronger, not to hide behind out of fear."

Sam clamped his hands down on his thighs, leveraging himself back to his feet as he headed toward the door. "It's getting close to dawn. I should go. Blocking everything out, separating your thoughts from others', is the easy part. The hard part is learning how to read only one person's mind at a time. Not everyone can, most vamps are content with living in silence. But you could learn if you wanted to. You're strong enough."

Kate considered the proposal for a moment. It would be useful, being able to read suspects' minds, get into their psyches. She forced her attention back to the man in front of her. He was still speaking.

"Some people will be louder in your head than others. Those closest to you will be the loudest; you'll feel more emotion from them too. Friends, family, lovers; they will be the hardest to drown out, but you'll figure out how to balance them. Strangers, people you pass in the street will be easily muted. Luckily, you mostly work during the day so you won't have to worry about it."

Suddenly, he had her full attention back. "Wait? What do you mean?"

"Oh, did I forget to mention that? Sorry. They call us "nightminds" for a reason, sweetheart, we can only read people's thoughts in the darkness."

He turned to look at her as she paused behind him in the entry, holding the door open. "I'd recommend you hold off going to see Damon until you're more adept; he's more dangerous than you may think, stronger. He will get inside your head. He will knock down those cute little walls in an instant, twist your thoughts, your fears against you."

Kate nodded, a spark of indignation flaring inside her. She was strong enough to take down one bastard vampire.

"Just tell me where to find him."

Sam sighed as she brushed off his warning, but he continued on. "I've heard talk of a warehouse on the docks somewhere in Hell's Kitchen, good for moving cargo under the radar. I don't know an exact location. But _you're_ the detective, after all, so detect."

Kate forced herself not growl at his sass, settling for an eye roll instead. Of all the vampire sires in the world, why did she have to get stuck with the smart aleck one?

"Oh! By the way, snuck a look in your fridge earlier, that processed blood bank blood is no good for you. You should check out The Underground. They have a much better supply; I've heard rumor that the gourmet section just added Kangaroo. Though, in my opinion you can't go wrong with cow or pig's blood. Genetically they are very close to human. Oh, and this time of year they normally have lamb also, you know, because of Easter. Very good, a bit on the sweeter side, like a nice dessert wine."

Kate blinked as she attempted to come up with a retort, all thoughts falling flat. How could she even respond to that? But The Underground. That was the second time Sam had mentioned it. "Wait! Where is this place?"

Sam turned on his heels, lazily walking backward toward the elevator, shoulders hunched. One hand emerged from where it had been shoved in the pocket of his black trench coat so he could trace an invisible map in the air.

"You know the abandoned 91st street station on the 1 train?"

"At 91st and Broadway? Yeah, I know it, been closed for the better part of fifty years."

"Head down the tunnel, you'll be able to sniff it out from there."

Sniff it out? She turned to him, face painted in confusion, but he was already halfway down the hall. "Wait! What do you mean?"

"I mean we couldn't make it easy enough for the average human to find, now could we?"

Kate's jaw worked silently as she watched him disappear into the waiting car. Was a simple explanation really so much to ask for?

* * *

"Castle!"

He had been casting sideways glances at her for the past twenty minutes and it was starting to work on her last nerve. She wasn't going to explode, of that she was pretty sure. They were almost to the precinct and if she was going to turn to a pile of dust in the sunlight, she would have done it by now. As it was, barely any of her skin was showing anyway. Everything, with the exception of her face and hands, was covered by the black turtleneck, pants, boots and jacket. And those few slivers of exposed flesh had been thoroughly slathered in the sun block she had sent Castle out to buy when he had awoken that morning.

She hadn't even known SPF 110 existed.

She had finally told him it was enough, when he had suggested a fourth layer. It was bad enough that she had to be covered in the slimy stuff, but she now smelt like she belonged at a poolside cabana, not in her cruiser in the city, and it only continued to remind her about the honeymoon they would no longer be taking. And to make it even worse, the smell was permeating the air, causing heads to turn toward her and the pungent cloud whenever she walked past. Yep, it was a great way to keep from drawing attention to herself. Between this, the impending threat of exploding at any given moment, and the fact that the one cool power she had gotten with becoming "undead" was useless in the daylight, she was seriously considering asking Gates to transfer her to nights.

How she was going to explain it, though? Of that she had no clue. What was that disease that the guy had in the 'vampire' case they had a few years ago? Porphyria? Maybe she could use that as an explanation. Her fingers tapped against the steering wheel as she wondered how long the typical onset period for porphyria symptoms was. Maybe Lanie would write her a note...

The sedan rolled to a stop in a line of traffic and she didn't even need to glance to the side to know that he was staring at her again. She could feel his eyes burning their own hole into her skin.

"Stop it."

The words came out in an exasperated growl, lower and more menacing than she had intended, and she cast him a sideways glance, chiding herself silently as he slumped, defeated, in his seat.

She couldn't blame him for being overprotective. If their positions were reversed, and he was the one who could turn into a pile of dust any second from exposure to daylight, she was sure she would be ten times more panicked than he was at the moment. She still couldn't believe she was thinking in those terms, that she _had_ to think in those terms.

A week ago her worst ultraviolet related concern was wrinkles, possibly melanoma, today it was turning to a pile of ashes. Dust? Glitter? What exactly did vampires turn to when they exploded?

Or did they just evaporate like steam; vaporize into a shimmering light?

It was oddly comforting to wonder what it would be like, even if she never wanted to find out first hand.

"I think it would be painless, like floating up to the clouds."

Beckett's head whipped around as she pulled into an empty parking space in the precinct's parking garage. "What?"

"The sunlight," Castle clarified. He turned toward her slowly from where he had been staring out the passenger side window, a small smile forming. "I don't have to be a mind reader to know what you were thinking, Beckett."

She felt her body relax as his hand snaked out and his fingers wound through hers, her eyes wandered up from where they had fallen to focus on their joined hands, to find his soothing gaze. "I love you."

"I love you, too. Now let's get in there and figure out how to kick some vampire ass."

* * *

Castle's bag plopped down on the top of her desk, the less than subtle 'thud' catching the attention of both Ryan and Esposito.

"Yo, Beckett," Esposito greeted as the pair wandered over, each of the boys lacking his own subtlety as they gave her a once over, checking for visible scars from her attack two nights before. "How you doing?"

"Never better, Esposito. In fact, I think I might have a lead in the Cassandra Moore case."

Both perked up at that, identical eyebrows raised. "Really? How's that exactly?"

Beckett shot a look at Castle as her other two partners pinned her with inquisitive looks, arms crossed over chests, leaning back against the desk opposite hers. She briefly wondered if they knew they were mirroring each other. Did they practice that when she wasn't around?

"Anonymous source sought me out last night. Said we should be looking for a guy named Damon Kershaw- about thirty years old, brown hair, brown eyes, runs a trafficking operation out of a warehouse in Hell's Kitchen."

"Trafficking?"

"Yeah. Drugs, guns, girls, other... illegal fare. Said Moore and some others got onto his operation, they killed her as a warning. Find out everything you can on this guy. I want to know where he lives, what he looks like, where he was every minute of the past two days. _Everything_."

Beckett breathed a sigh of relief as Ryan and Esposito nodded and headed back toward their respective desks, not questioning her orders or source any further. And better yet, they hadn't asked about the overwhelming aroma of coconut she was currently sporting. When she turned back around, Castle was in the break room, already diligently warming up the espresso machine and expertly flipping a coffee cup in the air. Her eyes drifted to the closed door of Gates' office. She shook her head, eyes rolling up as she sighed, any bravado she had mustered up quickly draining from her system. Later.

Plopping down into her chair, her attention was drawn back to Castle's bag, which he had insisted on bringing with him from home. It... stank...

She had just poked a finger at the clasp, nose crinkled in disgust, when her usual blue, ceramic mug clanked onto the desk in front of her.

But she ignored the cup as she motioned to the bag. "Castle, what's in there?"

"Oh!" The light that had dimmed significantly in Castle eyes throughout the course of the morning was back in full force. "Supplies!"

"Supplies? For what?"

"Vampire hunting."

"Vampire... what?"

"This," Castle continued as he pulled the small leather duffle bag off of the desk, placing it on the floor between them, "Is a veritable Mary Poppins bag of demon-fighting accessories. You have your usual suspects: garlic, cross, Holy water. But then we also have a collection of wooden stakes- various sizes and degrees of pointiness."

He placed each of the items on the desk as he listed them off. She hissed, fangs showing slightly, at the sight of the cross, forcing Castle's eyes wide before he hid the object back in the bag. Beckett's eyes darted around the bullpen to make sure no one was taking notice of the off-kilter show-and-tell as he continued. "A mirror, in case we have to check to see if someone is a vamp or not, or to see around corners, and, the best item yet- a crossbow. For all of your projectile-hurtling, vampire-slaying needs.

Beckett couldn't help the little flutter in her stomach as her hand ran over the smooth wood of the primitive weapon. It was beautiful: polished wood, engraved handle; oh, yes, she could definitely see herself using this...

"Yo, Beckett!" Kate's hand flew back, eyes wide as Esposito came to a stop by her desk, his gaze drawn to the pile of paraphernalia sitting in full view between them. "Whatchu got all that for?"

Pleading eyes flew to Castle for an explanation; any completely inane story would do at this point. "Uh..."

That had been no help. She sighed, her teeth sinking into her lip as she squinted back up at the man who was now hesitantly picking up one of the stakes as he came up with his own theory.

"Either Castle is still caught up with this whole 'vampire' theory or you two are making a really tiny fence..."

Kate forced out a laugh. Of course Esposito wouldn't think they were planning to slay _actual _vampires. He wasn't the kind of person who would easily fall for that. They just had to be sure that Ryan wouldn't see...

"You guys might want to take a look at... Hey, what you got there?"

… it. Beckett let out a pained groan. This was not going to end well.

"Nothing! It's nothing," Kate jumped in before _anyone_ could say _anything_ that would cause more suspicion than was already present. "Ryan, what was it that you wanted to show us?"

She bent over, picking up the bag and shoving it in Castle's lap, shooting him a pointed look saying 'put it away _now'_ as the Irish cop stuttered into his discovery, holding a piece of paper up for all of them to see.

"According to our records, Damon Kershaw died thirteen years ago in a little town outside of Los Angeles. Cause of death was said to be 'heart failure brought on by severe blood loss'. According to the LA county coroner's office, there were a lot of unexplained deaths around that time.

Castle and Beckett exchanged another glance. Oh, this was _very_ not good.

"Well it has to be another 'Damon Kershaw' then, right?" Castle piped up, letting out an uneasy laugh.

"What? You giving up on your theory of the undead that easily, Castle?" Esposito chided, and Beckett shot him a glare. Couldn't they all just drop the whole vampire thing already?

"I'm just saying that in the whole scheme of things, a man who died thirteen years ago in California is probably not our best suspect."

"Well, so far, he's the only one that matches anything close to our description. Born and raised in New York, twenty-eight years old at his time of death, brown hair, brown eyes, even did a nickel in California for drug possession. The only other Damon Kershaw in the tri-state area is sixty-eight and confined to a mental hospital."

Beckett flopped back in her chair, a hand running through her hair. This was their guy, she just had no idea how she was going to explain it to her team. She looked up to find them both watching her expectantly as Castle shuffled through his bag in an attempt to be inconspicuous.

She cocked her head to the side, considering them for a moment. They had been there with her through everything. Her mother's murder, the ups and downs with Castle, her PTSD. They had never questioned, never wavered; they were her rocks. Solid, grounded, trustworthy. She had never once doubted them, just like they had never once doubted her.

"Um, guys, there's something I need to tell you..."

All three sets of eyes were on her in an instant.

* * *

She had her back to them as she shut the door to the conference room, giving herself another minute to gather her courage before turning to face them— all of them: Ryan, Esposito, and Castle, who was sitting, back ramrod straight in the chair at the far end of the table, that damn bag still clutched in his lap.

She sought out his eyes, his strength, for a moment when she turned before motioning for the others to take seats, deflating in on herself slightly when they both shook their heads, refusing, instead leaning against the table, arms once again crossed over their chests.

"So... you remember the other night when you found me in the warehouse?"

Both of them nodded as Castle still sat silently in the corner. She mentally scolded herself. Of course they remembered.

"Well, something happened that night..."

Both of them were standing up straighter now, she could smell the tension, the worry spilling off of them. Salty and bitter.

"Did someone _hurt_ you, Beckett? Did they...?"

Her eyes darted to Esposito. He thought...

"No, Javi, not that."

Both of them relaxed again slightly. "But I was attacked..."

Her voice trailed off as she stood with her back to the door, arms wrapped protectively around her. She had no idea how to say this, but then, just like always, Castle was at her side, his mouth forming the words hers couldn't. The child-like twinkle still playing in his eye.

"Beckett's a vampire."

* * *

**A/N: You all are amazing, thank you for all of the kind words and encouragement. Extra props to those of you who found the 2 (possibly 3) Buffy references in this chapter. Also, thank you to Morgan for her help with the NYC subway system and as always, to my beta, Kate, for the late night beta session and the subtle (and not so subtle) suggestions for this chapter. You and your Bat'leth are awesome. **

**P.S. Does anyone else find the idea of Beckett with a crossbow completely badass, or is that just me?**


	6. Chapter 6

Nightminds

Chapter 6

Beckett's eyes darted back and forth. The room was silent. If she still had breath, she would be holding it. Part of her wished she could bring herself to let in Ryan and Esposito's thoughts, hear what they were thinking, but the other part wanted to remain in blissful ignorance for at least the next few seconds.

Castle, on the other hand, actually was holding his breath, his grip tightened around her middle, a movement that was imperceptible to the casual onlooker but grounding, comforting to her.

The seconds ticked by. Looks were exchanged. Arms crossed over chests. They were being too quiet. Her stomach sank, the feeling of dread beginning to billow up inside her. She knew that look; that wasn't a good look.

A few seconds more of strained silence and she had had enough.

"Guys…" She started.

"No, Beckett," Espo spoke up first, taking a step toward her, chest puffed, shoulders back as he straightened himself to his full height. "This isn't funny. I know, haha, let's play a joke on 'the boys' make it seem like something is really wrong, but we left you alone and you were _attacked._ Do you have any idea how that made us feel when Castle called, panicked, saying you never came home, and now you're going to pull something like this?"

"Espo…" Beckett forced out, the knot in her stomach tightening as she saw fire mixing with the disillusionment swelling in his eyes. Her attention turned to Ryan, but he was standing his ground behind his partner, his gaze unwilling to even meet her own.

"No, save it," the dark-haired detective spat back as he made to go around her to the door.

"Espo, wait!" The words came out in a rushed, desperate shout, and she forced herself to pause. Emotions were swirling, overwhelming. Anger, worry, defeat, sadness, desperation. Sam had warned her about this, heightened emotions, sensations. She needed to calm down, she was beginning to spiral, like she would pass out at any moment. "Please… he's not joking. Something happened. Please, just listen."

Her fingernails dug into Castle's palm as she waited for her partner, her friend, her brother to turn back and face her. Ryan was hanging back, lingering by the table, arms still crossed, but loosening, as if he really wasn't sure what to believe.

Seconds slowed as she watched him, but finally he pivoted, jaw still firm as his eyes met hers. She took that as a cue to continue.

"I know this sounds crazy but when I woke up in that warehouse I was different. They did something to me, and now, I can hear _everything_, and my heart's not beating, and Lanie was going to run tests, but I have no blood to draw, and I can read people's minds. I'm freaking out, and I just need you two to believe me."

She could feel all the emotions she had bottled up over the past two days spilling out of her, permeating the air. She had thought she was fine; she had forced herself to believe she was okay with all of this, that Castle's support would get her through, but she needed more, she needed her friends, her family.

Both sets of eyes were staring at her now, and she couldn't stand it anymore, the silence. Slowly, her eyelids fluttered closed and she allowed the walls she had built to crack just enough so she could hear, feel what they were thinking.

The voices, the thoughts, were quiet at first, but once the dam burst she was flooded by a tidal wave of jumbled images and emotions. Fragmented sentences shot past, too fast for her to decipher, but then unease and skepticism gave way to pity and sympathy. Just as she was going to put the bricks back into place and face them again, a rush of pure affection spilled over her.

"Beckett…"

"Kate…"

Both the detectives spoke at once and Kate's eyes snapped back open as the wall erected back into place, her mind now exhausted. But the hesitation was still there, and Castle silently nudged her arm. Looking down, she saw him holding out the mirror from the bag, and she took it with a nod of thanks and understanding.

"Look, I can prove it." Pulling in a deep breath out of pure habit, she turned her back to Ryan and Esposito and held the looking glass up in front of her face. She watched their reflections staring in astonishment in the otherwise empty glass as they both peered over her shoulders, exchanging a stunned glance. Her eyes locked with Castle's over the rim of the mirror and she could hear his silent cheers of support in his growing smile at the boys' expressions. She could do this; she could convince them myths like vampires were real. She could convince herself.

"You… that's a trick, right?"

She lowered the mirror slowly, turning to face the boys. "It's no trick, Javi."

Her eyes flickered to Ryan who had yet to say a word, suspicious eyes searching her body, studying her posture for any tell that she was lying, that this was still a prank.

"I'm not joking, Ryan. I… died... the other night, and now I'm stuck in the middle of an underworld war. I need your help."

"I… believe you."

Three sets of eyes settled on the Irishman, and Kate let out a sigh of relief as she shot Ryan a grateful smile. One down, one to go.

Heads rotated as their collective gaze swiveled to the final member of their team.

"Hey, now, Becks, you know I love you but this… This is just weird."

"I know, trust me, I know, but you have to believe me. Want me to pull out the fangs?"

Esposito shot a look to Castle, over her shoulder, and Kate turned to see her fiancé doing his best vampire impersonation, face scrunched, arms raised as he hissed.

"Not helping, Castle."

"Sorry."

She turned back to Esposito with an exasperated huff. But she reached out and grabbed his hand, pressing his fingers to her dormant pulse point, watched as his eyes widened and snapped back to hers.

His fingers searched her neck for a moment before reaching down to grasp her wrist.

"You're…"

"Dead… Yeah, Espo. Zombies may not be real, but sure enough, vampires are."

"Okay."

One eyebrow flew up. "Okay?"

Slowly, his arms relaxed, his stiff expression melting into a supportive smile. And she found herself smiling back.

"Okay, I believe you. So, what next?"

"Next," Beckett's eyes drifted around to each of her boys as she finally allowed her shoulders to sag in relief. "We figure out how to stop the evil faction of vampires and save the city."

"You're kidding, right?" Ryan retorted.

"'Fraid not," Beckett responded as she turned toward the table, pulling out a chair and settling down to tell the tale of the past few hours.

Half an hour later, a little more stunned, and a little more open to the possibilities of supernatural happenings, the band of detectives, and one detective-helper, moved toward the door of the meeting room.

The boys had volunteered to grab them all some lunch, and Beckett watched from the door of the conference room as they walked to the elevator, both slightly dazed.

"You okay?" She could feel Castle's breath on her neck, warm, comforting.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just…" Her thought died on her lips. "I never realized how much they cared about me but..."

"You read their thoughts?"

"Yeah." Her eyes were focused on the now-closed elevator door. "And they really do love me, more than I could have ever imagined."

"I think you'll find that it's a trend, Beckett. You truly are incredible and you've touched so many people's lives. I'm still amazed you don't know that."

"It's not like it's something I've tried to do, Castle. I guess it just happened."

Her gaze drifted over the bullpen, watching all of her colleagues going about their business, working hard on solving crimes, finding justice for victims who had been robbed of their lives by the wicked. Just like her…

"What are you thinking?" Castle's voice was a whisper, in her ear or in her mind, she didn't know. She didn't care. He was there, with her, always, and right now that was all that mattered. She turned her head, nuzzling her nose into his neck, breathing in his scent, his life, and his arm curled around her middle, holding her against him. She didn't care who saw.

"It's time to make this thing a strength. Let's go get justice for Cassandra Moore."

* * *

Kate wrapped her arms around herself as she peered down the steps into the dark abyss of the hidden entrance to the abandoned subway station. Lanie had said she would meet her here ten minutes ago, and Kate was starting to feel conspicuous standing in the shadows of the alley, sunglasses firmly in place. Her neck was starting to itch from the sun and she was definitely getting hungry. It was hard to get time to sneak a strawberry-banana-and-o-negative smoothie in a room full of detectives.

Her stomach actually growled. At least some bodily functions never changed.

Castle had offered to bring her something before meeting up with Alexis, but the girl's text had seemed urgent, so she had sent him on his way with a grateful kiss on the cheek and an assurance, at his hesitation, that she would be okay. Sam had said something about this being a smörgåsbord for vampires, whatever that meant, but she was pretty sure that meant food, and considering it was pretty much the only thing she could think about at the moment, she really hoped that assumption was correct.

"Hey, girl. So, you want to tell me the reason I'm meeting you in a particularly sketchy alley in the middle of the day?"

"Jesus," Kate exclaimed as she spun around, a hand pressed over her chest. "Lanie, don't sneak up on me like that."

"Sneak up on you? Aren't you supposed to have supersonic hearing and a sense of smell that would make most bloodhounds jealous?"

"I..." Kate's stomach growled again, and she moved her hand to press against her temple. The world was starting to swim around her. "I think it's been too long since I ate."

Lanie shot her a sympathetic look as she reached into her bag and pulled out a brown sack, twisting the top off the bottle wrapped inside. "Here, drink this."

"Is that booze?" Kate's voice peaked as her eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"No, it's blood, I just figured it would be more inconspicuous this way. No one would think twice about seeing someone getting sloshed in an alley. Seeing someone down a pint of blood, though, that might raise a few eyebrows."

Lanie's eyes drifted over to study the crude graffiti painted on the wall as Kate chugged down a gulp of the deep red fluid, her eyes swiveling to watch her friend.

"So, you want to tell me what we're doing here and why Writer Boy isn't hovering?"

Kate pressed the back of her hand against her mouth, wiping away any traces of the blood before throwing the bottle into a nearby dumpster and answering the other woman. "Alexis messaged, worried about something; Castle went to check on her. And this, apparently, is the entrance to an underground vampire market. I need to get some information on this Damon guy, and I thought you could help me with some of the blood while we're here. Tell me what's good and what's not. Sam said whole blood was better than the stuff from the blood bank since it's already separated."

"Well, that is probably true. Wait, who's Sam?"

Kate pulled off her sunglasses and switched on her flashlight as she yanked open the boarded-up door, and squeezed through the narrow opening, holding it open so Lanie could follow. "Sam's the vampire who sired me."

Lanie held up a hand, forcing Beckett to pause in the dim light. "Whoa, girlfriend. The vampire who made you? Now, rewind and fill me in on everything I missed."

Kate kept her voice low, telling Lanie of the events of the past couple days as the medical examiner trailed behind her through the dark, dank former subway station. Every tap of a heel echoed through the abandoned tunnel, joining with the distant squeals of subway brakes, dripping water, and rodent chatter in a twisted symphony illuminated only by the thin beam of the flashlight, which she had handed off to her friend. She could sense her pupils expanding and contracting in the darkness. In a way she felt like a cat, prowling through the dark with near-perfect sight.

"So where is this place, exactly?"

Lanie's voice cut into her thoughts as she paused at a junction of tunnels. A maintenance door was to her left, the platform far behind them.

"I'm not sure..."

"What do you mean you're not sure? I swear Kate Beckett if you're dragging me around in these Godforsaken tunnels with absolutely no clue where we are going, I'm gonna..."

"Shhh, Lanie." Kate waved a hand backward, motioning at her friend to stay silent, as she leaned around the corner, her other arm braced against the wall. "I hear something."

"You mean something besides the giant rodents that are stalking us and planning to eat us alive?"

Kate let out a long-suffering sigh. Sometimes she swore Lanie was worse than Castle; at least the latter she could quiet with a glare; the M.E. just glared right on back.

Women.

"Yes, other than that. I can hear people talking, and I can smell something." She paused as her stomach let out a rumble almost loud enough to join into the symphony itself, and she turned back to Lanie, her lips splitting into a wide grin. "It smells _really_ good."

"Kate, fangs."

Kate ran her tongue over the ridge of her teeth only to find her canines unusually long. "Whoops, sorry."

Lanie only waved off the apology. "Something tells me I'm going to need to get used to it."

Kate lifted her head, sniffing at the air twice before motioning for the other woman to follow her farther into the tunnels. They turned three more corners, two lefts and a right, before they were hit by a cacophony of sounds, smells, and light. Both women froze as chattering bodies appeared before them surrounded by booths, tables and stands.

"Well, I'll be damned..." Lanie whispered, her jaw dropping as she stared at the scene with wonder.

"This is amazing," Kate chimed in as her eyes perused the various trinkets and foods littering every available surface.

Eyes turned to study them as they wandered around the seemingly never-ending sea of tables, each covered with a different fare. Vendors yelled out to the dozens, hundreds of milling patrons. The space was still dank - water dripped from overhead pipes and the sound of the voices bounced off the concrete walls, ceiling and floor, but there was something welcoming about the place, the feel of an old-world bazaar. A sign in the corner boasted exotic foods: blood from animals all around the world: kangaroo, llama, even lion and koala. Kate blanched at the thought; part of her couldn't fathom drinking blood from an animal she wouldn't normally order off a menu at a restaurant. Why couldn't they have at least bled something squicky like a ferret? Shaking her head to clear the spiral of thoughts, she steered them toward a row of tables boasting more 'normal' cuisine - cow, pig, chicken, even sheep's blood, but paused when Lanie tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey, look, there's a room over in the corner. Looks like it could be a bar."

Kate's focused her attention past the chaos and onto the entrance to the dimly lit room, the blaring music wafting toward them. A worn board with the word 'Sânge' scrawled on it in red paint hung over the doorway.

"Sang, sange, sage, sane? How do you say that?" Lanie mused.

"Sânge," Kate murmured in response. "It's Romanian for blood."

"Romanian, eh?" Lanie replied. "And everyone says vampires don't have a sense of humor. I wonder if they have wine? I don't think it's possible to ferment blood, but if Jesus turned water into wine, who knows, maybe the vamps figured out a way to up the ante. Afterall, 'blood wine' does have a nice ring to it."

Kate couldn't help the small smile that formed at her friend's random ramble, and before she knew it her own voice was chiming in. "I don't know about wine, but I would assume they make a mean Bloody Mary."

The sound of Lanie's laughter trailed after her as she plowed forward into the crowd.

Kate was running her fingers along the edge of a table, studying the various jars of blood; local, the vendor told her, organic pig's blood, virtually indistinguishable from human, when a passing man leaned in a little too close to the pair of women and took a deep sniff, a wide grin forming as his eyes traveled the length of Lanie's body, leering.

"Fresh meat."

"Hey, leave her alone," Kate growled. At the same moment the man behind the table leaned over to shoo the sniveling rail of a vampire away with the snap of a dirty towel.

"Sorry 'bout that," the portly man sighed as he flopped back down in his chair, arms crossed over his potbelly, which protruded well toward his knees. "Eddie can be bothersome if left to his own devices. He normally don't mean no harm, though."

Kate turned to see 'Eddie' peering at them over his shoulder, his thin body hunched away as he faced a corner, head of greasy hair shining in the tunnel light. "What's wrong with him?"

"What's not wrong with him's more like it. Homeless, jobless, family's dead. Gone a little mad, we think. He's got no one, outlived them all. We all throw him scraps, keep him from turning to seedier methods of feeding, if you know what I mean. Not sure if it helped, though; heard rumor he's turned to snitching for Damon."

"Damon?" Beckett's eyes snapped from Eddie back to the rotund man slouched in the booth, beads of sweat forming along his brow. "You know Damon?"

The man let out a hearty laugh. "Know 'im? You're new around here, aren't you, sweetheart? Everyone here knows Damon."

Kate eyed the man for a moment as he patted his balding head with the towel, his thick dark mustache twitching. "What's your name?"

"Sal."

"Hi, Sal. I'm Kate. Do me a favor, give me a call if you see this Damon guy or any of his men skulking around here. I need to talk to him." She pulled a business card out of her pocket and held it out between two fingers, waiting patiently as Sal hesitantly reached out and took it from her with a nod.

His eyes fell to the gun and badge peeking out from inside Kate's jacket. "But I wouldn't go and do something stupid, like try to take him down, if that's what you're thinkin'. No one, and I mean no one get's near Damon and lives to talk about it. Not if he don't want them to, anyway."

Kate could feel the sense of unease creeping back up her spine as she looked over her shoulder to find that Eddie had disappeared into the crowd. There was a deeper story here.

* * *

"That detective was at the Underground today. She was with a doctor lady, askin' around 'bout you."

"Doctor? What doctor?"

"Don't know. Black lady, alive, think they work together. Called her Lanie."

Damon's lips twisted into a sick smile as Eddie twitched in the corner, the weasely man's gaze fixed down to the ground. "I've been thinking for a while that our little operation needed a doctor. Clients want their food healthy. Maybe it's time to send a message to our new detective friend."

* * *

_A/N: I apologize for the delay in posting this chapter, it was being particularly stubborn. Thank you for your patience and all the love you have been sending me and this story. I have all the love for all of you in return. Kate- thank you as always for the beta, for cracking the proverbial whip and yelling at me to write, and the flails... and the wine... But, seriously, ALL THE FLAILS!_


	7. Chapter 7

Nightminds

Chapter 7

Kate sighed as she dropped the receiver of her phone back onto its cradle. Nothing.

It had been a couple hours since she and Lanie had ventured into The Underground and Kate had since dropped Lanie back at the lab and sent Ryan and Esposito to look into the warehouse in Hell's Kitchen. She was growing weary of this whole situation, ready to get it over and done with, and get back to her normal routine, well, as normal as it could be anymore. So far Gates hadn't caught on to their unauthorized line of investigation, and Kate wasn't willing to push the envelope. It was bad enough she was considering asking to be transferred to nights; even the thought of breaking up her team sent a shot straight to her heart. Every step she was taking into the sun was a little more painful than the last, and how could she expect to do her job if she couldn't go outside?

And now, to make her mood even worse, there had been absolutely nothing at the warehouse Sam had told her about. According to the boys it looked like it had been abandoned recently and in a hurry. She really was starting to get a bad feeling about this "case".

"Nothing. Looks like Damon's guys caught on that someone was sniffing around and jumped ship." She relayed to Castle. Leaning back in her chair, she dug the heels of her hands into her eyes.

But she couldn't sit still. Pushing herself out of her chair she ran a hand through her hair as she began pacing in front of her desk. "This should not be this difficult. Sam told me where to find Damon not two days ago; how did they figure out so fast that someone was…"

Kate froze mid pacing-step before whipping around to face Castle, who was uncharacteristically silent, watching her from his chair. "The market."

"The market?"

"Yeah, at the market there was this guy… Eddie. He kept following us. I just thought he was being a creep but then Sal said he could be working for Damon."

"Sal?"

"Yeah," Kate waved off the question in his tone with a flick of her hand. "One of the vendors at the market. He specializes in organic blood."

"Organic blood?"

"Yeah from, you know, organically raised, grass and grain fed animals."

"Oh, right, organic. Because, you know, how many other types of blood could there possibly be?"

"Good quality blood is very important, Castle. You don't want to get a contaminated source, it could give a vampire an extreme case of blood poisoning."

"Right, blood poisoning. I really need to see this market."

"Well, you're going to get your chance. We need answers and I know where to find them."

* * *

"Hi Eddie."

Kate stood, arms crossed, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she watched the wiry vampire freeze at the low tone of her voice.

She had made her way through the maze of abandoned tunnels in record time, Castle trailing along behind her murmuring in wonder. She even caught an audible 'oo' and 'ah' when they emerged into the cavern housing the market.

But this time when Eddie turned there was a glint in his eyes that hadn't been present earlier in the day, when he had been skulking around Sal's stand.

"Detective."

"Ah, so you do know who I am."

Eddie let out a nervous laugh at his apparently inadvertent admission; a shaking hand snaked up to wipe at his nose. "There may have been talk around about a cop who got turned."

"Mmhmm, so you're saying you knowing I'm a cop has nothing to do with why you were following me and my friend around earlier today."

"Of course, of course. I just thought she smelled good. You're friend. Fresh, with a hint of death."

"Right. So, you see Eddie, I think you have some information about Damon that I want."

"Damon? Oh sure I know about Damon, everyone knows about Damon. He's a legend around here. Someone you don't cross." There was a flash in Eddie's eyes and they turned from randomly roaming to dark in an instant, his gaze focused on Beckett. "Of course you've already crossed him, haven't you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"He wouldn't have taken your friend if he didn't feel threatened."

Kate felt her heart plummet from her chest, while her stomach threatened to force it's way up her throat. The world was closing in around her. No.

No no no…

She forced out her next words. "Which friend?"

"Doctor lady, of course."

Castle drew in a quick breath behind her, but all she could see was black.

In the next instant, the world swirling around her in a cacophony of bright lights, she felt the impact of Eddie's body being smashed against the wall, feet swinging madly searching for purchase on the floor, a ledge, her forearm secured under his throat.

"Tell me where she is. Now."

This time Castle made no move to calm her when her words came out in a growl, or when she felt the tight stretch of her skin as her face morphed into that of a monster. This "Damon" had taken Lanie, and that meant war.

"Now, now, now. That's not how this works," Eddie stuttered, his voice strained from Kate's arm crushing into his voice box. "Damon wants you to back off. You do that and your friend comes back to you… alive. You don't and she comes back dead. In one form or another…"

"Or," Kate growled, as she leaned forward, shifting her weight to her arm. "You tell me where Damon is and I don't kill you now."

"Oh, but, but, but, you can't kill me, you see, I'm your only chance of finding your friend. You kill me, Damon hears about it and Doctor Lady is dead, just an empty shell bled dry."

She did a quick assessment of him. Judging by the smell of him and the smudges of dirt and waste on his clothes chances are he traveled the city by sewer and other hidden underground tunnels. Sheet white skin, almost blue. Sunken eyes, yellowing. He hadn't been anywhere near the sun in years.

"Okay, fine, I won't kill you." She yanked him off the wall, one hand firmly gripping his bicep as she dragged him behind her back through the labyrinth of tunnels as Castle trailed along behind them, watching her back.

She stopped short as they reached the boarded up entrance to the station. "One last chance Eddie before I shove you outside for a nice, long taste of the sunlight."

Eddie let out a nervous giggle, his free fist winding through his greasy mop of hair. "You wouldn't dare. You push me out there and you'd have to come get me before I burn or run and you can't be out there for any longer than I can."

"Oh, no, I can't. But he can." She nodded over to Castle who was standing watch, arms folded over his puffed chest, a wooden cross gripped in one fist, a murderous glint in his eye. "And trust me. He doesn't like you any more than I do. And who knows, he might be willing to let you burn."

At Eddie's hesitation, Beckett nodded toward the door. "Castle, could you do the honors?"

"Of course." He replied, his voice chipper as he moved to swing the board out of the way.

"I say we just start with a hand," Kate mused as she grasped Eddie's forearm, shoving it out into the daylight.

Eddie's screams echoed through the abandoned station and Kate's eyes darted around the space making sure no unwanted company wandered up from the market.

The seconds ticked by until Kate yanked Eddie back into the safety of the dark building, rolling her eyes as he whimpered, cradling his limb, the smell of charred flesh wafting into her nose.

"Okay, Eddie, tell me where they are or you know what happens next."

"Jersey," Eddie sniffled. "He set up shop in Jersey."

* * *

A/N: Thank you all for your patience, I apologize for the delay but I am working toward fitting writing into my new crazy life schedule. And thank you, as always to Kate Christie for taking the time out of her equally crazy life schedule to be my awesome beta and yell at me to 'WRITE MOAR VAMPIRES' whenever I get whiny.

x A.

Twitter: aspen_musing


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